The Magician In Tarot-Elements And Suits

The Magician in Tarot is a card that touches on the four major elements in life-Air, Earth, Water and Fire. This card is the second card in the major arcana after The Fool. He stands in front of a table and has his tools laid out in front of him while holding a staff to the sky and the other hand to the ground. This position is symbolic of connecting to both heaven and earth-inspiration from above while remaining grounded to the earth. Or-receiving inspiration from the celestial realms and putting it into physical action on the earthy plane. This could also be seen as the fifth element in Chinese medicine which is ‘metal’-which relates to ‘transformation’ (eg alchemy)-the ability to receive from the universe and give it back to the our earthly plane-transform ‘inspiration’ into physical manifestation.

The infinity symbol hovers over his head symbolising the interaction of Energy and Matter (as above, so below) and a sense that time and space have no end. Around his waist is a snake eating its own tail and this is also further highlighting the idea that life has no beginning or end-or another way of looking at it is we need endings in order to have beginnings. You cannot have one without the other.

The magician is an important archetype to keep in mind when we are trying to create anything new or bring something into our life that we dearly want. It requires focus of first our mind, emotions, body and trust in our spirit to bring something that is really important to us. When one of these elements are missing, it makes it harder to manifest what we want in our life.

Four ways you must be aligned to get what you want.

Mind (air element)

We need to be very clear in our thinking and have one pointed focus when aiming to manifest something in our life. If we keep changing our mind and dipping into all sorts of different ways we can do something without picking ONE and focussing on that, we are throwing ourselves all over the place and our mental energy gets scattered.

Emotions (water element)

If our mind is not clear, then we also throw all our emotions off and doubt and fear set in which make it even harder to achieve something we want. This could be anything- a new relationship, job, career, business, promotion. Our life is primarily run by our emotions. We make most of our choices from our emotions so if sadness and depression dominate your life then chances are you are not making great choices for yourself , and this makes it even harder to bring in what you are wanting.

Body (earth and wood element)

Our mind and our body are intimately connected to our emotions and thoughts which are intimately connected to being able to manifest what we want in life. So if we are eating junk foods, rarely exercising and generally not giving our body the time and attention it deserves, it is going to be much harder to be clear in our mind and our emotions and free in our body.

Spirit (fire element)

The more elusive aspect of the spirit can be described as what we feel from our heart to be true. Our heart connects with the inspiration from above or what is beyond us and we aim to bring it into an earthy form so that it can be expressed. When our heart shuts down we feel disconnected from our spirit and inspiration to move forward. Our sense of connection is lost to our higher purpose or connection with others which feels rewarding to us. This impacts our ability to have energy for what it is we are trying to create or move forward with.

Tying it all together.

So can you see how important it is to have all of the above in line and congruent to be able to easily manifest what we want in life? We all have different elements in our body and mind which connect with the elements nature that are more in line or more out of line, but at our core we are powerful creators. The reason we often don’t believe this is because we are sloppy with finding our balance with these four elements, and integrating it with the 5th element relating to metal, which is transformation, or alchemy of our energy and material state.

How to find more balance within these elements (tips):

I like to relate Tarot cards back to the 5 elements described in Chinese medicine because at the end of the day, we are all connected to nature and to have balance and joy in our life we should aim to be in harmony with nature. Here are some exercises and tips you can try to bring the emotions into balance with the elements of nature

Metal

Metal relates to the lungs-we take in oxygen and release CO2 back to the environment. The transformation or alchemy happens in the lungs with the exchange of the gases (O2 to CO2). Deep breathing exercises calm the mind and improve the immune system. This is where balance starts-in the ease of our breath. It’s no accident that all the ancient practices such as qigong and yoga have a deep incorporation of the breath.

Water

Water relates to the free flowing of emotions. When emotions are blocked, fear sets in and stops the flow. Practicing the 6 healing sounds of qigong will help help release pent up emotions and bring more balance to their flow.

Earth and Wood

The earth is all about our gut and the spleen in Chinese medicine. Eating root vegetables and grounding soups and healing the gut microbiome by adding probiotics to your diet as well as avoiding refined sugars and junk food will help balance the earth energy in your body. This is important to feel grounded in the moment and a sense you have control over your emotions and thoughts. When the earth element is out of balance you feel excessive worry and have difficulty making decisions.

When it comes to the wood element, this relates to the muscles of the body. When the body has tight muscles we are often inflexible and stubborn in our ways and have difficulty ‘going with the flow’ and feeling easy connection with others. It can also link to excessive and uncontrollable anger as the wood element connects with the liver, and when the liver is out of balance a multitude of problems in the body and mind can occur. The liver has over 500 jobs to do in the body and is the largest organ of the body.

Fire

Fire relates to the heart and enjoyment in life. It enables us to feel deep connections to ourselves, others and our spiritual life. It is the heart of our creativity. When it is out of balance we feel hatred and feel disconnected to something bigger than ourselves. To balance fire, practice a meditation technique where you start by consciously bringing a feeling of appreciation and gratitude into your heart. Close your eyes and feel how you appreciate this person/situation/pet and allow it permeate every cell of your body. Bring the breath into heart-in and out and stay in this feeling state for as long as possible. This is a technique which has been extensively studies at the heart math institute and has a direct positive effect on the parasympathetic nervous system. It is deeply calming and allows for a cascade of immune enhancing hormones to flow forth and a shift in your brain chemistry. It clears the space in your body mind and spirit to be more in touch with your intuition and be guidedby your heart rather than your mind.

Recommended personal development for more balance

One all round daily practice you could do to harmonise these elements and thus associated emotions with the elements is to practice Qigong.

Qigong is powerful tool for balancing your body, mind and soul. It has so many benefits and has plenty of medical studies to back up its efficacy. It is really easy to practice and you can do it in virtually any clothing and any place. So, no need to go and get into exercise clothing.

As I am a yoga teacher and qigong practitioner, I have designed a couple of qigong routines online which go for a short 20 minutes. It is my firm belief that unless we can find some kind of peace within our body, it is very hard to find peace within our mind. Try my routine below!

About the author.

Liz is a professional Tarot reader and certified bioenergetic practitioner, yoga teacher and qigong practitioner. She works with the Tarot to help people make decisions and explore their potential. She offers email tarot readings here.